


Two Wheels, Two Pedals

by MidoriEmmi



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Sousuke being a dork, based off my own experience, cycling au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 09:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2464022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriEmmi/pseuds/MidoriEmmi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Sousuke has a secret he wants to keep, and Makoto isn't letting him. If only he hadn't agreed to the beach date, then none of this would have happened. Crack. Oneshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Wheels, Two Pedals

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first SouMako fic actually, though it's a bit late to be uploading it only after those for SouMako Week 2014. But here it is, so please enjoy!

“There is a reason he’s called the killer whale,” says Nanase Haruka, as he fixes the raven with a gaze that is a cross between one of loathing and one of smirking. How Haruka managed to smirk with his gaze Yamazaki Sousuke did not know, and he did not want to know. However, the fact that the eldest Tachibana is a naturally blessed athlete is not one to be belittled, as the teal-eyed whale shark of Samezuka soon finds out. Rin’s freestyle-obsessed boyfriend may not like him, but he never lies about Makoto. The captain’s pristine backstroke is not the only thing his muscular form is capable of.

Archery?

Straight into the target’s bullseye (and the one in Sousuke’s heart too). 

Soccer?

Straight into the goal (that is also Sousuke’s lovesick soul).

Cycling?

Straight up ahead as he gracefully guides his pert ass on the two-wheeled vehicle into the sunse-

“NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE!”

“But Sou, you promised we could go to the beach this weekend!”

Yes, Sousuke DID promise Makoto that they could have their date at the beach but there was one small problem. 

“C’mon Sou! We only have them for two hours!”

And that small problem came in the form of a demon disguised in metal joints melded together with two rotund rubber wheels and a seat far too small no matter the rider. The blasted thing even had the audacity of occupying Makoto’s left hand while his right was occupied with yet another one of those metal monstrosities. 

“I…I never said anything about cycling!” he blurted out, a little too fast.

Sousuke’s mind was in jumbles as it rummaged for a valid excuse to refuse his boyfriend’s offer. It did not help that just the mere sight of bicycles brought back childhood war flashbacks better left forgotten. It was almost as if that turquoise thing was mocking him for trying to weasel his way out of it. Mouth poised and ready to reject, the teal-eyed boy paused.

Shit no. Not that face. Anything but that face.

Eyes the colour of fresh young leaves at the beginning of spring gazed intently into his own, half-lidded and just about to well up with tears. Sousuke could almost see the drooping puppy ears and tail along with those absolute killer puppy eyes and soft lips upturned in what could only be described as a manly pout. At this point Makoto looked every bit like a puppy who just got kicked and abandoned by the side of the road.

“…Makoto…no.”

The raven could only stand there dumbly as his boyfriend looked to the side and nibbled on his bottom lip, those mesmerizing emerald orbs starting to glisten with what looked to be tears. And as one threatened to pave it’s own wet trail down the brunet’s face, Sousuke’s already crumbling resolve immediately tumbled down into nothingness.

“O-Ok f-fine! I’ll cycle! J-Just don’t cry!!!”

The Tachibana puppy eyes were a force to be reckoned with. One did not simply refuse and as Makoto did an immediate one eighty and started smiling like before, Sousuke knew he had fallen into the trap.

Well…it couldn’t be THAT hard, could it? All one had to do was have one foot on the pedal, make sure to have both hands securely gripping the handles, start by pushing forwards, then have the other foot join the other on the other pedal right? Simple theory should mean a simple learning process.

So of course he zipped forward for the whole of two seconds before slowing and…

…falling with the grace of an untrained hippopotamus on a unicycle, onto his left side.

The other boy had turned behind the moment he heard the loud clang and basically shrieked as he jumped off his own bike and ran to help Sousuke up from where we was still somehow trapped sideways under what must have been a snickering bicycle.

“SOUSUKE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT??!!”

“Yeah…”

Yet despite one butterfly swimmer’s attempt to convince his lover that he had everything under control, after numerous “accidental” losses of balance (“SOUSUKE YOUR SHOULDER!!!”), there was no hiding it. 

He, Yamazaki Sousuke, the most imposing and strongest swimmer after Rin in Samezuka, could not ride a bicycle to save his pathetic, dorky life. Of course, with his kind of luck, it was no surprise that the big reveal had to be so dramatic and most importantly right in front of the most important person in his life. He groaned.

Life was SO unfair.

It also didn’t help that Makoto demanded they take a look at his injuries, and seemed to wince and blame himself a little more each time his eyes travelled over yet another scratch or a slowly darkening bruise. The raven could almost see the torrent of apologies bubbling up and just about to gush out of his mouth. As reckless youths who rarely cycled, both all but forgot about the safety equipment they should have rented together with the bicycles, and Sousuke’s body was paying for it.

“Sou…I-“

“Did you return the bikes? We didn’t go overtime?”

Makoto blinked.

“Ah…yeah I did. And no, we’re early in fact.”

“Good.”

The two hours had gone by in a flash, and instead of the romantic time the brunet had most likely hoped for, it became a coaching session for the worst student in the whole of cycling history. On a side note, at least Sousuke had somehow managed to extend his balance time from roughly two seconds to about fifteen before unceremoniously toppling over again.

“Sousuke…why…”

Oh god was Makoto CRYING?!

“Makoto…I-“

“I HURT YOU!!!”

This was why the raven always tried to be strong, always tried to assure Makoto that he was ok. His angel always blamed himself for things that were not his fault and Sousuke just hated how it always ended with him drying off tears that were not his own. Wordlessly, he reached out and brushed his fingers against his lover’s damp cheek as the other was beginning to break out in sobs.

“You idiot. I decided to learn cycling of my own accord. You aren’t to blame for the decisions I made.”

He pulled Makoto close, chin resting on the sweet-smelling hair of his brunet.

“…so don’t cry. I wouldn’t know what to do if you did.”

All was silent for a few moments before Sousuke grunted at the impact of a punch on his ribs, and after that the impact of a punch on his lips with another pair of lips. Hidden from the public eye on a worn wooden bench at the most isolated stretch of the cycling stretch of the beach, they shared an intimate memory in the bright orange rays of the setting sun. 

“So…can we put this behind us now?”

“Of course. But no more cycling dates.”

“Yes. No more.”

Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea trying to learn the ways of the two-wheeled metal demon, but Sousuke would rather just add this day to his collection of war flashbacks from back in the day. Nothing was fun if it involved Tachibana Makoto, his beloved boyfriend crying after all.

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me on my personal tumblr blog at https://midori-emmi.tumblr.com


End file.
